Best Places60098, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 60098, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
60098 ranks 10,255th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 60098
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
60098's strengths and weaknesses
Where 60098 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 60098 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,371 a month, better than only 11% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 60098
A household needs to earn about $86,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 60098 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $96,912, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 60098's effective rate of 2.42%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 60098
60098's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 60098.
Who works in 60098, and how
Work in 60098 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 60098
60098 has more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 60098 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 60098, month by month
60098 sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 24° | 17° |
| April | 58° | 45° | 36° |
| July | 83° | 71° | 60° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 60098
The nearest airport, Chicago/Rockford International, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 36 miles away.
The best schools in and around 60098
Schools across 60098 average a C, better than 30% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Leggee Elementary SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Martin Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Westwood Elem SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Richard F Bernotas Middle SchB− · 40% proficient
- Creekside Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Hannah Beardsley Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Prairie Ridge High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Huntley High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Marengo High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 60098 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
60098 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 60098 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 60098 suits
Families
Schools land around the 30th percentile and crime safety beats 58%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 60098
Is 60098 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 60098 ranks 10,255th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, low disaster risk, and big-city access, and lowest on property taxes and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 60098 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $270,744. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $96,912 median income, cost of living beats 77% of zip codes.
Is 60098 safe?
Yes, 60098 is safer than 58% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $230 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 60098?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 31 with lows near 17. That works out to about 71 pleasant days a year, more than 27% of zip codes.
Is 60098 good for families?
Schools beat 30% of zip codes, crime safety beats 58%, and childcare runs $1,371 a month.
Compare 60098 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 60098. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 60098 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
60098 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 60098: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 60098: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 60098: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 60098: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
60098 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.